Participated · Series B · Oct 2022

Neuchips develops purpose-built AI ASIC solutions focused on energy- and cost-efficient deep learning inference accelerators for recommendation models, aiming to deliver low total cost of ownership for data centers. Its first product, the RecAccel N3000, is designed specifically for DLRM and is slated to be ready to sample later this year with accompanying software. The company says its solutions emphasize leading-edge performance while minimizing power and cost. Neuchips is led by CEO Youn-Long Lin and operates out of Los Altos, CA and Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 2019 by veteran IC and software design experts, the management and R&D teams hold patents in signal processing, neural networks, and circuit design. The company recently raised $20M in a Series B2 to expand operations and broaden its business reach.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2022

Ancient8 builds an Ethereum gaming Layer 2 using the OP Stack and is integrated with Optimism’s Superchain. It provides a suite of Web3 gaming infrastructure and distribution products, including the Space3 game publishing platform, Ancient8 Gaming Guild, ReneVerse ad engine, A8ID, and Gosu Network. The company says its products have helped 100+ Web3 games and more than 200K users navigate Web3. Future plans described in the article include expanding interoperability across the Superchain, supporting builders through grant programs and tools, and driving mass adoption by making onchain gaming more accessible to Web2 users. Ancient8 is organizing the Ancient8 Builder Jam Hackathon with partners Kyros Ventures, ZKP Labs, and Orochi Network, offering prizes up to $400,000. Financially, Ancient8 has raised $10M in total financing from investors such as Pantera, Dragonfly, Hashed, Makers Fund, Mechanism, Coinbase, IOSG, Jump, and Animoca. Ancient8 builds software and community infrastructure for GameFi and the Metaverse, including products like Ancient8 GameFi Identity and Ancient8 Launchpads. The company provides a GameFi identity profile, achievement tracking, discovery tools, guild scholarships, and education through its Blog, Twitter, Discord, and an institutional-grade Ancient8 Research Portal. It also operates guild management software and manages a large blockchain gaming guild in Vietnam with 3,500+ scholars. Ancient8 has partnered with 25+ GameFi projects, including Axie Infinity, CyBall, Phantom Galaxies, Bigtime and others. The company plans to use the new funds to accelerate development of next-generation software products, community growth, and guild infrastructure. Founded in July 2021 by Howard Xu, Ancient8 has built an active community of 200K+ members. Ancient8 operates a community and software platform that lends P2E game assets to scholars, provides educational content, and builds tooling to let users play-to-earn and participate in GameFi. The company says it helps more than 10,000 blockchain game players through scholarships, community, education and software products. Ancient8 partners with P2E game developers and local communities in Vietnam to drive mainstream adoption and educate users about blockchain and GameFi. Founded in July 2021 by Howard Xu, Nathan L and William Phan, the team positions itself as an infrastructure layer for the metaverse and aims to reach and empower the next 100 million metaverse citizens. Future plans include creating a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) for community participation, developing additional blockchain and software products, and expanding game coverage as more blockchain games launch.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2021

Step Finance is a trading dashboard born out of a Solana hackathon that aims to be the “front page” of the Solana blockchain. The company is building the Step Platform to allow users to visualize, analyze, execute and aggregate transactions across all Solana contracts. Its product is positioned similarly to Zapper and other Ethereum‑ecosystem portfolio tools, addressing fragmented project interfaces on Solana. The firm says the new funding will be used to develop the platform further. Investors and backers in the Solana ecosystem, which is noted in the article as being backed heavily by Sam Bankman‑Fried and Alameda’s network, are supporting the effort. Co‑founder George Harrap, formerly of remittance startup Bitspark, framed the product as a solution to siloed project data on Solana.